Hello,
I have two questions regarding Social Security Old income:
1) I applied for Social Security Old Age benefits in July 2023. However, I continued to work afterwards. Therefore, around March 2024, after the SSA got and consolidated the earnings statements from my employer for 2023, they recalculated how much benefits I am entitled to receive per month. As a result, my monthly benefits were permanently increased going forward. In addition, I also received a retroactive adjustment to the previously made payments, in the form of a one-time lump sum payment of the amount that should've been paid to me in 2023 and in the beginning of 2024.
So, my first question is whether I need to report this one-time retroactive payment on my 2023 tax return (since this is the period that the money was mostly retroactively paid for), or for 2024 (when the money was actually paid and consequently entered my bank account). The 2023 Form 1099-SSA doesn't list this amount, and I haven't received an amended form for 2023, so I'm assuming that this amount will be included on the 2024 form, but I wanted to make sure.
2) My spouse didn’t work enough in the United States in order to qualify for her own Old Age benefits. However, she is eligible for 50% of my own monthly benefits, since we have been married for over 10 years. Her enrollment process for these benefits was only completed in 2024. However, after she signed up, the SSA retroactively paid her the 50% for every month, going back to when I first started receiving my own benefits, in July 2023. And, just like my own retroactive one-time lump sum payment, these retroactive benefits were also paid in 2024, and therefore weren’t included on the 2023 Form 1099-SSA. So, I’d also want to make sure whether these payments should only be reported on the 2024 return?
Thank you very much in advance.
